McJobs that all the family can share

By John Arlidge

McDonald's is pioneering a scheme that allows employees to share their job with family members.

The Family Contract allows husbands, wives, grandparents and children over 16 to job-share and swap shifts without notifying management.

Under the contract, which is the first of its kind in Britain, each worker clocks on and is paid separately through his or her own bank account. It is being tried in six cities around Britain. Co-habiting partners and same-sex partners can apply and, if it proves successful, McDonald's said it would expand it to include friends and extended family such as cousins.

David Fairhurst, the head of McDonald's UK human resources operation, said: "A lot of our staff wanted more flexibility.

"Many are youngsters at college who have very different term hours and holiday hours. Many older staff have children, with all the demands that entails; many look after relatives. So we decided to offer them the flexibility in a family context."

McDonald's, which has 67,000 staff in 1,250 British restaurants, said flexible working reduced the number of sick days. It said the scheme was supported by the Department of Trade and Industry.

The first family to sign up for a Family Contract were Rita Cross, 42, and her two daughters Laura, 18, and Natalie, 16, in Cardiff.

Laura said the main advantage of the arrangement was its flexibility. "We get up in the morning and decide which of us really wants to go to work," she said.

Mrs Cross said it helped the whole family. "We get a better work and life balance," she said. "I'd love my husband to join up too, so that we can all plan our work and family life as one unit."